DIOSAS DEL ARTE ~ poetry

flier ~ HAI PHUNG CREATIVE

recently, DIOSAS DEL ARTE, a women's art collective co-founded by kelly shaw willman and Hai Phung Tran here en el Caribe Sur de Costa Rica, hosted a poetry reading at one of our favorite local hangouts, CARIBEAN'S. the night featured thee poets listed above on the flier, as well as a few extras. an audience member, after hearing the poetry of the event, suggested that we also share it (a selection of 2 or so poems) in written form, so ~ ~ ~ here you go, xoooo.

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kelly shaw willman

if i said, "you can have ~

you are dangerous," ~

    you'd ~

(involuntary breathing) ~

breathe for the first time in all this time.

as in:   i'd never before ~ experienced your breath,

though i searched for it all those mornings ~

came up only with fossils and

a stubborn departure.

~ ~ ~ "we did the best we could." ~

   ~ (shape shifting wasn't in yet) … or,

"i want your skin to be my skin." …

~ (that remote trace) ~

your shark-face and tender rib.

~ kelly shaw willman

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when you go, no matter how many, no matter the nails, fabrics, kittens, no matter, i feel a pull to be close again, like, always, even though we both are developing ours, independently. free spirits. grounded in potentiality, laser-beam visions, anchors, plantains, mountain*jungle*blooming*thingz.

~ kelly shaw willman

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HAI PHUNG TRAN

I Enter You (in 4 parts)

i.

i enter you

and i see your roots

tangled deep in the earth.

the darkness becomes me,

i become again

all that i thought i was not,

and yet i did not die.

instead i re-collected parts

that long ago i cast aside

shamed by my own

ego’s light.

ii.

i walk in pieces

too afraid to accept

that perhaps i'm perfect

in all my imperfections.

i shamed you

and shamed myself

limp-walking,

swaying from side to side.

i know nothing

and yet i AM.

iii.

i enter you

and i see my own prison

a self-imposed cell

four walls and a roof

but with floor open

to drop down deeper

deeper

into the abyss,

should i choose to go.

iv.

i understand now why

your words

need to cut me

so deep that the wound

releases my heart energy

back into the earth.

i needed to make room

for the world

for love

for me.

~ Hai Phung Tran

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​Passive Activism

passive activism

social schisms

creating dissonance

in my psychic fields

i live outside

of your box

i live

in the trees

among the birds

and the bees

and i remember

memories of a soul

ever expanding

out into the world

that would rather

self detonate

than save a neighbor

we are neighbors

and lovers

and friends

and together

we hold each other up

to the truth

that we

are one

and so i live

outside

among the trees

and the birds

and the bees

and stay outside

of your social box

your prison box

a cell

that no longer grows

is dead

~ Hai Phung Tran

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David Knight

~ David Knight

~ David Knight

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Mariska van Wijngaarden

Everything moves smoothly

Into desired places

Synchronicities rapidly build up

To a dazzling rainbowy state

Of clarity

Messages from the future

Clearly recognized

How can you then not

Celebrate each day ferociously

Wind, water, earth, sky eagerly

Accept the party invitation

Swirling with you

Like derwishes

Blending into the sweetest cocktail Life has to offer

Each breath, each heart beat

Each song sung by the soul

Ignites every bodily cell

A smile so huge

It devours the world

Life loved so intensely

You could burst

~ Mariska van Wijngaarden

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With a last nod

We sail away from these shores

They have proved us right

The white ocean is awaiting us

Ploughed we have through

Mud, dirt, conditioning

When you appeared on the horizon

I was just rinsing of the last bits

Completely cleansed I smiled to you

Like a snake

Curling my consciousness

Around yours

Taking it all in

Checking it all out

Trembling I stared

In the crystal clear mirror

That you are of me

And I am of you

I saw the future

In this existence

We are so persistent

To let these shores disappear

I could not have asked

For a more suitable

Co Space Traveler

~ Mariska van Wijngaarden

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~ Paul David Johnson

Firstly every color swirled
Beached whale Dark chocolate Common and ginger That naked Indian tree Or is it a burnt tourist? Chinese grocery Pita bread and hummus Chimuri or pan dulce Polyrhythms like Latin Jazz syncopated and counter Culture centered on diversity Freedom liberty and Pursuit of pleasure Gracias, chiao Bella Whappen hey there Halo Pura vida Mae One drop roots bluegrass Rondon is the flavor From Panamanian chiles To the soothing coconut Cream filled With all kinds of rare And uncatagorizable Textures and spices Aromas of burning leaves And ylang ylang Pati pati pati Banana bikes cruising In the middle of the Road go pro Sticks to the head Making memories Go viral Adventure zipping Through the tree tops Permaculture in action An organic mandala Spinning so fast Everything blends into A funny shade Howlers complain As dump trucks Full of gravel pass Mr sloth ponders Everyone is moving So fast Where is this place I call home?

~ Paul David Johnson

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Benjahmin Sur

biografia lirica

I never born

because

I swear

siempre estuve aki y siempre estare

en el espiral de lo que es

con mi cintura de estrellas

girando con la voz del eterno resplandor

I grow completamente iluminado

y soy el espejo que te mostrara tu propia luz

En el centro de mi nombre dios baila y rie

Soy un anillo de selva expandiendo el verde que salvara todas las almas

Este rostro que ves es el tuyo también

Unidos a un mismo cielo somos el azul de la eternidad

dibujando nuestra historia

Nunca moriré

Soy el sonido escondido en las constelaciones

por eso me encontraras siempre donde la vida es invencible

mientras la realidad baila cumbias y bullerengues

drum and bass, reggae o salsa music día y noche

me encontraras listo

para vibrar juntos

~ Benjahmin Sur

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Here I am

Here I am dear

Abriendo soles sobre tu piel

Aki estoy

En medio de todas partes

Como un desierto de flores en los andes silenciosos bajo la Cruz del Sur

Estos poemas son el mapa de lo que nunca diremos

Porque tu y yo conocemos el misterio que no es negado a nadie

Así que chekale bien

I am just a child jugando en el paraíso

Without guilt and with full joy and happiness

Vendrás a jugar conmigo?

Because…

aki estoy

~ Benjahmin Sur

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Wawi Amasha Story Teller: I am a story teller--- I tell the stories of my people, the beautiful aspects of the African culture- The powerful connection with nature, the way of simplicity and community. I am a story keeper, the wisdom of our ancestors, The power of our nature, The magic of our continent The gift we are to the world Because Africa is the answer Africa is the future! ~ Wawi Amasha - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Life That's how life is It comes and goes Don't you mind it Enjoy your moments For they are sacred Some search everywhere Wondering where they belong They have long forgotten That they are the belonging Yet everywhere they go There they are If only they were present They would know this truth Enjoy your moments Each is sacred This is the belonging This is life ~ Wawi Amasha

in honor of my 34th birthday

little me

foto: Jesse Artavia

i identify as an experimental artist. in the depths of my being, i live for this work. most often, i express myself in abstracted, ritualistic, non-confessional ways.

"inner-beach," shot in Brooklyn
foto: Carlos Ramirez

... what do we sense about each other without giving it all away with our words? 

i love feeling. 

i love seeing into. 

i love *knowing* without being told.

my womb guides me ~ 
intuition rises.

"new/mind/ritualz," shot in Costa Rica
foto: Statia Grossman

* * *

... lately, i have witnessed a lot of people being very brave. maybe though, it isn't so much about bravery as it is about necessity. the necessity of telling a story that demonstrates realness, triumph, and *hope* for a sweeter future.

in the wake of the Orlando shooting, we speak up about what direction our world needs to move in. 

answer: LOVE. other answers: CONSCIOUSNESS. ACCEPTANCE. RESPECT.

... and since writing these previous mini-paragraphs, there have been bombings at sites of worship ... Alton Sterling, Philandro Castile. more. 

Nina Simone said, "An artist's duty, as far as I believe, is to reflect on the times," and, "If you don't tell people how you feel, you're not going to get anywhere."

"new/mind/ritualz," shot in Costa Rica
foto: Statia Grossman

* * * 

speaking up (through my writing) does not have to mean that i am giving my mystery away. my experimental artistry doesn't have to be compromised. there will always be crevices within my inner-world that are solely mine ~

so sacred.

so shiny.

... filled with quiet things that make me smile to myself, giggle.

to clarify, speaking up about injustice in our world is not something i hesitate about now. however, speaking up about my own personal experiences in a more direct or conventional way is a challenge for me. so, art. 

ritual for Oshun ~ foto: John Pierpont

* * * 

i give thanks for art as a way of life.
i give thanks for art as an outlet.
i give thanks for art as a collaborative platform.

"grunge*quest" collab, Brooklyn
foto: Janna Zagari

and i give a lot of thought to the exploration of a new angle for myself ... perhaps telling stories more directly about my experiences, my healing, my struggles, my/our beauty, our capacity for re-birth. 

video diaries. years of research becoming public. 

vamos a ver.

i am in process. deciding.

foto: Jesse Artavia

* * * 

foto: Jesse Artavia

((( ... the energy of the medicine woman is one of balance. there are two sides. there is the nurturing wisdom-based side that shares healing with others, and there is the private side, which understands that not all recipes are to be divulged. 

i remembered this analogy recently, and it comforted me to know that this life, for me, is truly about balancing the cosmic-alien, highly spiritual, experimental artist self with the gloriously complex and gorgeous human self ...

light ~ dark.

quiet ~ loud.

introverted ~ extroverted.

telling ~ non-telling.

... and all the fluffy, funky, messy, 

sweet + wonderful in-between's. )))

* * * 

foto: Jesse Artavia

as aforementioned, there are things happening in the world that cause great unrest in my spirit: young black men dying at the hands of atrocious continued injustices, centuries of warfare still unraveling, violence against women ... Mother Earth's tender fight to be healthy ... and freaking American politics. 

... and on a personal level, i am going through a repeat phase of needing much hermitude. my thoughts, feelings, and needs deepen. being in public rarely makes sense, nor does being accessible for intimacy, nightlife ... 

this is a very personal time. 
spiritually, i am experiencing a shift.

our world, i am knowing, is gearing up for a shift too.

* * *

it is a strange time for our world ~

it really hurts as a whole, 

but let us not forget magic. friendship. honest and considerate communication. healing. support. speaking up. listening to the stories of others. a depth of connection to a life filled with ritual and nature. simplicity. sparkles. kittens. strawberries. flowers. chocolate. dancing. love letters. 

THE BIG LIFE.

~ ~ ~ 

foto: Statia Grossman

foto: Statia Grossman

the choice to live in Costa Rica has allowed me much more space for interpersonal healing. when i recently moved to the Caribbean side after years of mini pilgrimages here, things really ... got special ... it's about the land, mostly. my connection to her.

from my "new/mind/ritualz" project
foto: Statia Grossman

i have been working on this birthday-inspired article for over a month. it flowed sometimes, i erased large angry chunks, and now i give it to you, in its well-intended form. 

xo,

kelly

34 years and one week ago